~ Where fingers tap dance…

About some special people

Sometimes you are so involved with yourself that you fail to acknowledge the little blessings life has bestowed on you. So here I am rectifying that lapse on my part.

As a few know, I have been gallivanting the countryside yet again as is my wont. I was surprised to be informed by the Lord and Master during one of our frequent talks courtesy Airtel, that I had a parcel waiting for me from a certain Hrishikesh Bawa. Now, Hrishi is my little brother (or ‘little fat bro’ as he would have it). I have one of my own who is littler to me as well, but Hrishi is a lot more littler than him and was acquired along the way as I journeyed through blogdom.

Coming back to the mysterious parcel that the L & M said awaited me, I was nonplussed and also filled with remorse on hearing about it. What was my little bro doing sending me parcels when I should have been the one sending them to him, it having been his birthday on the 5th of October??! Besides which, he had already sent me a book by my most favorite author (any guesses??) called, ‘Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen’ for Rakshabandhan, I said as much to the L & M. but he being oblivious to the dynamics of birthdays and gift exchanges among my friends and I, could not offer enlightenment on the issue.

On my return, I found the parcel waiting for me in the car, the L & M having helpfully collected it on the way. I tore it open to find a book called…. Triple Sudoku. Hrishi, knows I am a big sudoku fan and hence the book as gift. Some time back he had even gifted me with a small soft toy knowing my weakness for them. Isn’t my bro the best?!

One may receive a hundred gifts in one’s life time, but gifts received with a thought of you the person behind it are always special. When someone takes the trouble to notice and remember your likes and gives you a surprise, the gifts become all the more dear. Thank you so much Hrishi. Hugs to you.

Someone else did something similar awhile back. His name is Maddy. He took the trouble to go through my page at Shelfari, choose books from those I was planning to read and gift them to me. But that pales in comparison to the real surprise he gave me. On my last birthday, the golden one, I received a call early morning, from a young girl, a stranger to me. Imagine my surprise to learn that she was from the local FM channel and was conveying the wish on behalf of Maddy! I got to choose a favorite song too. Aren’t I lucky to have someone care enough to arrange such a surprise for me?? Maddy and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, but at the end of the day we agree to disagree and remain friends unlike some others who forget that I am entitled to my own views and opinions.

Then there is Bob. He is a familiar figure to many of you as he is regular in leaving comments here. Bob and I have been friends since long. He is a real funny man and makes me laugh with his comments he makes at his own expense. Bob’s wife Chris has such a lovely smile resembling our very own Madhuri Dixit (I feel). Jimi is their grandson and is the subject of Bob’s blogs. Once Bob made a video of Jimi saying ‘Hi Shail’ and posted it on Youtube for me to see. How sweet is that??! Here is the video.

Recently Bob wrote a post dedicated to me. I am really honored Bob values my views and opinions. He does not hesitate to ask me if he needs help with something on the net. No false airs and graces, down-to-earth and a wonderful human being is our Bob.

Once on a journey from Baroda back to my hometown I happened to meet a stranger Rajeshand we got talking. It was such a fun conversation we had that went from one topic to another in an easy flow that the two hours of journey just flew by. I am still amused to think that initially Rajesh thought that I was the high-brow type because the first thing he had noticed was the book I was reading, ‘The Argumentative Indian’ by Amartya Sen. He became my Facebook friend and wrote this about me:

“Met by “accident” on Tvm Express and got derailed by the sheer spontaneity, wit, humor and her infectious +ve vivacity. Never have talked to any unknown co passenger with so much fun. Cheated on my office time, early morning to hv a cursory glance at your blogs. Will surely attempt to fulfill my latent, but a strong desire to “write”. Reach Tvm safely and “let your fingers do the Tap Dance” as you cannot keep your readers/ admirers waiting any longer !!

I have not been able to push him into blogging as yet. But Rajesh, I assure you, you have not seen the last of me.

Then there are others like Kannan who took the trouble to send CDs that my son needed and even helped me identify suitable colleges for him, his wife Jayashree and daughter Dyuthi; there are Salil and Ambika who not only met me (with chocolates) when they came down to Trivandrum, but also were gracious hosts to me at their beautiful home along with their daughter Niharika who became my fan and even offered her toy room for me to stay over; there is Govind of the four-line poetry fame, who apart from regularly beating me at scrabble is the one who introduced me to Stephen King by gifting a book of his; there is Roopa who gifted me a most lovely hand bag and though much younger to me, she had been there when I needed some help…… the list goes on.

This is just a small tribute to those of you who entered my life as strangers and voila! transformed yourselves to special people, giving to me of your time, respect and unaffected affection. For a time I had forgotten. Remembering you all reminded me of how lucky I really am. Thank you all. And don’t any of you dare tell me that there is no thank you-s between friends. I simply don’t agree with that stupid philosophy and may get violent and throw those bricks I am always threatening people who annoy me with, if you dare. No thank you-s and sorry-s between friends indeed. What dashed nonsense! Borrowing from Wodehouse, I have never heard such drivel in my life! So, THANK YOU ALL once again.

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43 thoughts on “About some special people”

cha.. you’re far too kind.. you conveniently forgot to mention inscrutable americans and how i taught my grandmother to read and other stories.. and the fun we have when you’re in town coupled with the things you and baldy cook up for me knowing fully well that i do enjoy black coffee. also , in spirit of the 360 days, am i ftc?

Yep i am… also i do fondly remember those days, we all had a a good thing going.. Thanks to facebook and (formerly orkut, my use of which has since some time ago reduced significantly) i am still in touch with most of them. Although I do miss spending time reading stuff you all posted owing to my own decadence and the amount of time I spend at work..

come think of it, I have yet to read wodehouse. I do realize that people swear his work, but some time in the future i will. as for sudoku i don’t indulge in it as well. Given my own mental faculties i might tend to be pretty decent for the least in it however that is for i will pursue it and serve justice..

I just bunked office today. was not in a good mood.. and I don’t know why I opened facebook at this odd time, and I don’t know why I felt like reading this post(I must confess, I come only occasionally to your blog these days, although I enjoy it somuch everytime I come)..

And then I kept reading the post like I would do for any other post. And when I saw my name, a sensation ran down from my throat to stomach. It was totally unexpected, and was a mood changer. Feeling so good now. I do not have the wit of words(like you have) to express the feeling. I will just say “thank you”

I appreciate the opportunities that you have given Jimi and I to get to know you and be one of your on-line friends, Shail. You a “Super Special” person, such a wonderful human being, and I am honored that you included us in this tribute and I apppreciate it very much. Thank you; this is lovely and sweet just like you are.

When I first asked you to be my friend at Yahoo 360 several years ago, I sensed in my mind that you were “Special” then, and that I was basically trying to get started as a blogger. That you accepted my friend request struck me as kindness that I have come to know many times repeatedly from you.

You have been a mentor and taught me much about the Net. But you also have taught me how a human being accepts nothing less than the best from themself. This is a gift that you share with others 24/7. Thank you for sharing it with me.

You have such a dynamic personality. Jimi and I will help you heave bricks anytime you need assistance, in any direction, no questions asked. o(*v*)o

I echo dreamer. My online family is also growing,but is also slowly but surely stepping into the real world …. considering the amount of bloggers I’ve met. Any time you come to Delhi … buzz me. We will meet.

Thanks Pal. The net has given me friends that a whole life time prior to that hasn’t 🙂 I for one am not complaining of the net/cell phone et al bashing which seems to be the in-thing with a lot of people.

Shail,
Congratulations ! on having so many special friends around.
Surely, you all share great bonding .
you are a treasure to all of us , your blog friends, as you enrich our world with your wit , humour and delightful writings. I call you a word smith of highest order.
kirti

nb- Goodness of heart reaches the world even through the web communication and so has yours. bless you and all your friends.

Such nice remarks from your friends, Shail. What a talent you have for bringing out the good in others. It is a talent that you have honed to perfection, my dear friend. I know that we all salute you for being you. :):):):)

You are right, I am blessed, truly so. I cannot get over it that these complete strangers are now my friends and think about me and my happiness in their different ways. Yeah, friendship does make you feel emotional.

Glad that Hrishi added the link to this post when he wrote on the Conundrum post 🙂 As Richard Bach puts it:
“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.
Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof. ‘

About this blog

When my fingers tap dance on the computer keyboard the results are either some tongue in cheek humor, a verse, a short story, a rant or sometimes mere rambling prose that goes nowhere in particular.... You'll find them all. So go ahead, take your pick and be bored to death!!

I believe

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” ~ Cyril Connolly

The why

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” ~ Joan Didion